


Seasons in the Sun

by dragonflybeach



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Summer, Unspecified Time Frame, Vacation, fluff with a twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 10:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10874640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflybeach/pseuds/dragonflybeach
Summary: When the car breaks down between hunts, the Winchesters enjoy a few days of down time.





	Seasons in the Sun

At least they weren’t on the way to a case.

That was what Sam said, but Dean still stomped his feet and kicked trash on the side of the highway and shouted and threw a tantrum like a toddler.

They were coming back from a hunt in Oregon, somewhere in the middle of nowhere in western Idaho at the edge of a national forest, when a tractor trailer in the oncoming lane blew a tire. A huge piece of rubber had ended up in their lane. There was no room for Dean to swerve, so he ran over the debris, which cracked the exhaust manifold on the car.

As far as damage, the car had much worse in the past, but reminding Dean of that wasn’t a good idea.

They limped the car to the nearest gas station, where Sam called the only auto parts store within 100 miles, to find that they would have to special order the part, and probably wouldn’t have it for at least a week. They called Bobby, who just happened to have an El Camino he could rob one from in the scrap yard. He would send it UPS, and they should probably have it in 2 or 3 days.

The only hitch was, they had to have a place for him to send it. There wasn’t even a motel in this little town. There was a campground that rented cabins a few miles outside of town, so the Winchesters headed there.

To their surprise, the campground was beautiful. Unlike many campgrounds where they had stayed with Dad as kids, this one was clean and in good repair, despite the fact that many of the facilities were obviously older. Several of the camping trailers in the lot were vintage Airstreams and Shastas. The surrounding forest was lush and green, with a sparkling lake and rustic log cabin buildings.

They were greeted by a very friendly man who introduced himself as Pete and told them of course it would be fine for Bobby to ship the package there.

 “Davy,” he said to a child playing in the corner. “Go to mami and get these gentlemen some ensalada.”

The boy scampered off, and the man turned his attention to the Winchesters, who were filling out the registration card.

“My family fled El Salvador when I was a child in the 80s, during the civil war. We wanted a place not only safe from the war, but free from the stress and strife of our homeland. We found this beautiful land and created our little oasis where everyone can escape their troubles for a while. It is called the Floral Oasis Campground because our family name is Flores. We have many guests who stay year round and many who return to us every year.”

Dean slid the completed form across the desk. “That’s great, pal, but we’re only going to be here a few days, until that part comes and we can get the car back on the road.”

“But you will have a few days, at least.” Pete shrugged. “Rest. Relax. Enjoy yourselves. I can see in your eyes that you are men with many worries in your lives. Let those worries be gone for a few days. The weather will be beautiful. Swim, fish, play some games, enjoy our lovely summer.”

The little boy returned, carefully carrying two tall glasses of what appeared to be yellow-orange juice with chunks of fruit floating in it.

Pete took the glasses and offered them to the Winchesters. “Here, take, drink.”

Dean started to refuse, but Sam gave him a look, so both of them accepted the drinks and tasted them cautiously.

“This is delicious.” Sam said.

“Our camp specialty.” Pete told them. “Old country recipe.  Refresco de ensalada. My wife makes it fresh every day. A blend of fresh fruit juices and some special herbs to help you relax. Better than the unnatural drugs businessmen pay big money for and no negative side effects.”

Dean drank about half of his glass and smiled at Pete. “Liquid joint, huh?”

“Liquid joint.” Pete agreed with a wink. “Perfectly legal.”

“Well then we’d be rude not to partake.” Dean saluted the man with his glass and then finished the drink.

“Amanda!” Pete called, and a teenage girl appeared from the back room. “Show these guests to cabin 9, please.”

“Right this way.” She smiled and led them out the door.

The cabin was a short walk up a well-worn path. Along the way, Amanda pointed out the dining hall, the path to the lake, and the bath house. The cabin was a single room, but homey, equipped with a kitchenette complete with a coffeemaker and dorm sized fridge, a shelf full of books, and fresh smelling linens.

 They walked back down to the car to get their bags, and when they returned, Davy met them with a large bottle of ensalada.

Dean poured each of them a glass of the drink.

“Dean.” Sam said, frowning. “I’m not sure we should … “

“Which is exactly why you need it.” Dean told him. “What Pete said about relaxing and enjoying ourselves for a few days? Who needs some down time more than us? Like you said, we don’t have a case right this minute, and we’re stuck until we get the car fixed. It’s not like this stuff is making us stoned or hallucinate.”

Sam shrugged in grudging agreement and took the glass.

It was almost twilight, so they walked down to the dining room, where two of the Flores ladies served them with delicious home cooked meals and sodas, beer, and more ensalada.

They built a fire in fireplace with wood stacked behind the cabin. Sam read a book, while Dean carved pieces of kindling into a mermaid, a dinosaur, and a rocket.

“Since when do you whittle?” Sam asked.

“I’m not whittling.” Dean said. “I’m carving.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Whittling. Carving. Whatever.”

“It’s something to do.” Dean shrugged. “Maybe the ensalada is boosting my creativity.”

Sam snorted but didn’t answer.

They both slept better than night than they could remember sleeping in a very long time.  

The next morning, Davy brought them more ensalada. Dean talked to him a little, asking about school and how old he was and if he had heard of Led Zepplin. Dean gave him the wooden rocket and dinosaur, telling him to give the mermaid to his sister.

They had big breakfasts at the dining hall, fresh fruit and yogurt for Sam and all the fried foods Dean could eat. Dean went fishing at the lake while Sam walked one of the hiking trails. Sam was sure he had been gone at least six or seven hours, but when he got back, it wasn’t even 11 am.

After lunch, he and Dean swam at the lake and played volleyball and horseshoes with some of the other campers. 

As they watched the sun dip behind the trees, Sam said to Dean “You’re right. We did need a break.”

After dinner, there was a campfire with Pete playing guitar. Normally it wouldn’t have been the Winchesters’ kind of thing, but the stars were beautiful, there were pitchers of ensalada passed around, and it was nice just to sit and make small talk with civilians.

The second day was much the same as the first, with the Winchesters enjoying the beautiful summer weather and their well earned vacation. They swam in the lake. They took the paddleboat on a few laps. Amanda brought pitchers of ensalada out to the lake all day. Dean stood on the dock, lifted Davy by his feet, and helped him to do backflips into the water while Sam sat in a lounge chair reading another of the books from the cabin.

It rained a little that evening, so Sam and Dean played a few games of pool and ping-pong in the rec center. Some of the other campers played cards or boards games.

On the third morning, an unfamiliar young man appeared, but obviously one of the Flores family, as he looked like an older version of Davy.

“Sorry gentlemen,” he told them. “We have an electrical problem in the kitchen. I’ve brought sausage and egg sandwiches and fresh coffee.”

“No ensalada?” Dean asked.

“No power for the juicer.” The guy shrugged.

“Do you need some help?” Sam offered.

“Nah, we’ve got an electrician working on it. But there will probably be a lot of crap going on at the camp today. Not the relaxing time that I’m sure you were looking forward to. I brought you a picnic lunch and a map up to the waterfall if you’d like to go up there. It’s an easy hike.”

“Thanks, that sounds great.” Sam said.

Surprisingly, Dean didn’t grumble about the hike at all. They reached the waterfall in the late morning, and spent hours splashing in the cool, clear water. Sam picked some devil’s club and thermopsis to restock their spell supplies.

On the way back, Sam noticed that Dean was starting to get highlights in his hair from all the sun exposure of the past few days. He didn’t mention it, because then Dean would probably realize that he would get new freckles too and it would ruin his mood.

When they made it back to the camp that evening, the dining hall was dark and empty, but someone had left still-warm foil wrapped meals on the table in the cabin, and a six pack of beer in the fridge.

The following morning dawned much cooler. There was no early visit from any of the Flores family.

Sam and Dean made coffee in the cabin, and decided they should check on the status of the manifold, since neither one of them had really thought about it for the last three days. They couldn’t get cell signal in the cabin, so they walked toward the office, intending to borrow Pete’s phone.

An older couple, apparently new arrivals to the camp, were in the parking lot, and the man was admiring Baby.

“Beautiful car. A 1966?” He asked when Dean approached.

“’67.” Dean answered. “The front turn signals and the tail lights are the main difference between the two.”

The man nodded and turned back to his companion. “Honey, isn’t this car amazing? It’s sixty years old!”

“Sixty?” Dean repeated.

Sam turned to Dean and saw Dean’s eyes widen about the same moment Sam realized those highlights in Dean’s hair were actually gray, and that he had crow’s feet next to his eyes deeper than the ones Dad had. The leaves that had been bright and green covering the trees the day before were mostly gone, with only a handful of yellow and orange leaves remaining.

“Dean, how long have we been here?”


End file.
